On the Verge: Sydelle Noel on Auditioning, Acting, and Kicking Butt to the Top

Sydelle Noel has made a career for herself by showcasing both her acting and physical abilities on screens big and small, as evidenced in her roles on Netflix’s “GLOW” and Marvel’s “Black Panther.” Considering Noel is a former athlete, her physical prowess is not entirely surprising.

The actress’ first on-screen speaking role was on a 2007 episode of “Private Practice” in which she played a track star whose hopes and dreams for the Olympics are dashed due to a heart condition. These days, Noel’s acting dreams and intense work ethic are finally paying off in high-profile ensemble projects.

Now, this double SAG award nominee is teaming up with former MMA star Gina Carano for the indie action flick “Daughter of the Wolf.” She’s also gearing up for the debut of the third season of “GLOW.”

Noel spoke with Casting Networks about her early years, the casting directors who were instrumental along the way, and what really happened in the room during those seminal auditions.

In “Daughter of the Wolf,” Gina Carano is the sole female in the movie until viewers meet you halfway through. And it’s not a friendly encounter. How did this role come about?

Gina and I are friends. She called me up one day and asked me, ‘How would you like to be in a dope action film with me? We would have a crazy fight scene together.’ I was like, ‘I’m in!’ Gina is a former UFC fighter, so she can really fight. But on-screen, she’s always pitted against stunt people or actors who don’t really know how to fight so she has to hold back. She knows I’m an athlete and that I’ve been doing my own stunts in movies and on “GLOW,” so she was like, this could be a chance for us to showcase our physical capabilities as well as our acting. On the set, we had a great stunt coordinator, but we pretty much choreographed our own stunt scenes. Our goal is to do some type of “Thelma and Louise” action movie in the future.

Before you booked any acting roles, you interned at a casting office. Why?

I was interning with Kim Coleman and Vickie Thomas. As an athlete, I didn’t really know about the business. I took theater classes, but I never studied theater. So when I came out here, I wanted to know as much as possible about the business. I started interning with casting directors just to get the sides.

And did you?

Absolutely. Sometimes, actors feel that casting directors are against them, or they’re not paying attention to them during the audition. Some casting directors have so much on their minds, so that might happen. But at the end of the day, the casting director wants you to get the part. They’re rooting for you in the room. I learned that from working with Kim and Vickie. Interning with them helped because, by the time I got ready to start auditioning, I wasn’t nervous.

How so?

You can be the best actor in the room and not the get role. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen producers and heads of networks say, ‘That actor is the best for this part, but this actor looks better, or looks more the part.’ As actors, we have no control over that.

We can’t possibly know what they’re thinking, so we beat ourselves up by saying, ‘Oh, I flubbed a line.’ No. I flubbed a line booking “GLOW.” You do not have to have a perfect read for a role. Sometimes, they just want the pretty face that’s going sell and look good on that billboard. I’ve seen it and heard it. I think if I didn’t have that experience, I would probably be more in my head about that stuff.

Interning with Kim and Vickie helped me not be nervous in the room. I walk in there with a confidence where, if this is for me, it’s for me. If it’s not, help them see something special in me and consider me for something else they’re casting. That’s the mind frame I go in with.

What do you consider your big break?

“GLOW” is my big break. It’s literally what put my name on the map. I auditioned for “GLOW” and “Black Panther” within two weeks of each other. I went in for both roles in August of 2016, started shooting “GLOW” that September. November is when I found I got “Black Panther” and started shooting in January, 2017, for four months. As soon as I was done with “Black Panther,” I auditioned for “Arrow.” Then two to three weeks later, [I] was in Canada shooting that. I literally went from “GLOW” to “Black Panther” to “Arrow.” That was a really good run for me between 2016 and 2017, going from a series regular to a huge movie to a recurring role on another big television show.

Let’s talk about the auditions for those three projects. With “GLOW,” you play Cherry Bang, a former stuntwoman who becomes the trainer of a woman’s wrestling team. What was that process like?

Cherry is very physical. I remember the sides. It was about four pages, and it said that Cherry does a forward roll and comes up into a slaying kick. I was like, there’s no way I’m NOT doing that. I wanted to show that I could be physical because I knew the part was going to have wrestling involved. After I booked the role, [casting director] Jen Euston told me she auditioned probably 200, 300 girls for that part, and only a handful did that roll and kick. She said the rest skipped it and just went to the portion right after that, which was Cherry pulling out a gun and saying ‘Freeze, motherfucker!’ But in my head, there was no way that I couldn’t show [executive producers] Jenji [Kohan] and Liz [Flahive] and Carly [Mensch] that I could do a forward roll. I wanted to showcase my acting side and physical side with the forward roll and the kick.

There is also a sense of humor to Cherry.

Yes. I also had to do a rap bit, and I remember it had something to do with money. I literally threw a whole bunch of dollar bills at them. Turns out, I was the only one who did that. I thought it would be a fun moment to be literally kicking up dollar bills and then saying, ‘Bye, thank you!’ I always try to be memorable in my auditions, and that’s what I did with “GLOW.”

Was the audition process similar for “Black Panther”?

I auditioned with [casting director] Sarah Finn, and it was all acting based. They wanted to know if I could do an African accent. After the audition, Sara asked about my physical capabilities. I told her that I ran track, that I was very athletic, that I box. The part I was auditioning for was one of the Dora Milaje, which was more physical than acting based. After that initial audition, I was flown out to Atlanta to meet Ryan Coogler, Nate Moore and all the other producers for what they called a physical audition. I’d never had an audition like that before. It was a first.

What happened in Atlanta?

I flew out on a red-eye, right I after I shot “GLOW” all day. The show gave me the weekend off to go on that audition. I landed at 6 a.m. in Atlanta. A few hours later, [I] was with a whole bunch of stunt people running a routine with a bo staff, a [weapon] I’d never touched before. A few hours later, Ryan Coogler and some others came by to see the routine. That’s when I became a little nervous because I’d never used a bo staff in my life. But I did it. Ryan came up to me after and said, ‘I hear you’re on “GLOW,” and it’s about wrestling. You’re gonna wrestle on that show? I said ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Do you know how to wrestle?’ I said ‘Yeah, I could probably body-slam you!’ I showed him all the stuff I learned on “GLOW.” I shadowboxed for him. I did everything. By the time I got back home, on that Monday, I found out I got the part.

Was the audition for “Arrow” also that complex?

It was pretty much a standard audition. I went in straight to the producers. There were about five of them. They were already familiar with “GLOW” because it had come out at the time. I read and that was it. But I watched “Arrow” prior to the audition and got familiar with the format so I understood what they needed. I was playing a detective, so I gave them exactly what they wanted. I knew if I didn’t get the part, it would be because they were going for a specific look that I didn’t have. I found out the next day I got the role. I always tell actors to watch the show that you’re going in for. Especially if it’s a television show that’s already on. Every show is different. What’s on CBS is different than what’s on the CW. Know the format.

Are there any casting directors you feel really helped you in your career?

I talk with Kim Coleman all the time. She and Vickie Thomas helped me tremendously in my career. But there are two casting directors that I owe a debt to: Jennifer Treadwell and Monica Kelly. I did an indie film they cast me in called “Retake.” They were casting associates at the time, and this was their first project as casting directors. At the time I booked the film, I had just been let go from my reps. At the wrap party. they came up to me and said, ‘Put together a list of agents and managers you’re interested in, and we’ll help you.’ They made some calls for me and essentially got me the reps I had going in for “GLOW.”

Do you still audition today?

People know who I am because of “GLOW,” but I still audition for roles. That hasn’t stopped. Maybe if I was a lead, I’d get straight offers. But my auditioning process hasn’t stopped. The difference is now my managers can say, ‘She’s on “GLOW,” she was in “Black Panther,” she’s in “Arrow” and just had a movie come out with Gina Carrano. It’s certainly more helpful now.

The third season for “GLOW” begins airing in August. You wrapped two features, the Boko Haram-inspired “Rise” and the zombie apocalypse “The Clearing.” You must have less time for auditions now.

I was auditioning like crazy before “GLOW.” I didn’t have time to worry about not getting a part because I was already auditioning for another part. Auditioning is a technique. You get rusty if you don’t do it. If my actor friends need me to read with them to prepare for an audition, I’m like, ‘Yes, I’ll do it!’ Because when that audition comes for me, I want to be ready.

 
Looking to get your big break? Sign up or login to Casting Networks and land your next acting role today!

Related articles:
On the Verge: Ashley Bratcher from ‘Unplanned’
On the Verge: Daniah De Villiers from ‘Mia and the White Lion’
Meet Native American Boxing Champion Turned Actor Kali Reis